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CMN updates "hat" for CP 4.0

Via the official College Media Network blog, Rusty Lewis announces a new “hat” for the College Publisher crowd:

In regard to branding, the hat currently shows the College Publisher brand. This is somewhat misleading and out-of-date as College Publisher has been re-branded as College Media Network. Weâ€™d like there to be a distinction between College Publisher, the software powering the sites, and the network of 600 newspaper sites. In the new version this element of the hat will be changed to CMN branding alongside mtvU.

This change is more in-line to the longer term strategy of CMN that realizes the benefits of a network of 600 sites as a member of a suite of college-focused destinations. This brand will click through to http://www.collegemedianetwork.com which was launched this summer.

Lewis notes that the hat will eventually point to other destinations in the mtvU network:

This is the reason the tabs are being reworked into the hat as a promotional unit that will refresh and re-direct visitors to other sites in the mtvU suite depending on the time of year. This unit will be used to promote mtvU programming, concert series and other initiatives mtvU is looking to bring to the attention of college news consumers. It is important to note, that this is not an ad sales unit and will never click to a third partyâ€™s site.

The “hat” is a little taller than the current version (45 pixels high vs. 35 pixels high) and has the mtvU/CMN brand displayed more prominently (see a mockup here). The “hat” in CP 5.0 is much less noticeable (see samples here and here)